The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-05
KITTLE CREEKS LONE FISHERMAN.
The Trouble That Lie Goodyear's Bear
Story Heaped on His Mind.
Ero,p tbe Mem York SIM

toward evening on one or the very ralnlest
of the many recent very rainy days we had
had up among the mountains on the head
waters of Kittle Creek Although it was
the month of warmth and roses, the weather
required blazing fire in Maj. Haight'S
cabin fireplace. A yellowish fog, such as
had FEVER seen lowering at such AN eleva-
ton before, where such fogs as occasionally
visit these hills are white and fleecy and
ephemeral as dew, had formed around the
south border of the ground that stretches
away from the edge of the Majors pine
bordered clearing, and was climbing, close
ranked and slowly, up the bold escaIpment
of Big Oak Knob like an army storming a
height. Through the diagonal lines of fall
ing rain the edge of the pine forest could be
seen but dimly from the cabin window, and
the spiteful storm seemed to begrudge even
that dismal outlook, so savagely did it dash
and beat against the small and grlmy pane.
The utter cheerlessness of the prospect with
out had penetrated the cabin, and neither
the efforts of the blaze on the hearth nor the
influence of an Opaque bottle that stood on
the table between a teacup and a green glass
tumbler had been able to dispel it. So the
Major and had sat in gloomy silence for
nearly an hour, when suddenly he broke the
silence and said;
do we b'lieve tht man IS years old, an
with only one leg an one arm, would tell
lien
The inquiry was startling one under the
circumstances. 1t took me so by surprise
that | said nothing and stared blanlIly at
the Major.
do ye b'lieve it or mott" he repeated, TAX
ing up the bottle and the teacup and exact
ing its duty from each.
"Well, Major" said, ''that's hard ques-
ton to answer, not knowing"
II see,n interrupted the old woodsman.
'Ye don't know the man, never see him, an
never heerd him talk Wall, ez this mois-
tua' can't keep a wringin' itself out many
days longer, 'cordin' to the way that fogs
banl1in' of itself down yender long the pond,
an the way that winds beginnin' to slosh
around 'mongst them pines, an ez we won't
hev no time to do it arter this weather
clears, fer wen it does clear thur gOinter to
be some all-sloppin prime picker'l iishin' in
that pond, we'll iist slide over through the
woods to Lie Goodyear's an spend the
evenin'. Lie is the man I'm puzzled on.
He's told me sumpin' at least ev'ry year for
thirty years, an can't make up my mind
wuther he's lynn bout it or not Wen he
fus' told me it l thort sure he were a-stretch-
in of it poorly durn taut, cause then he
were only 45, an had both legs an arms.
Wen he got ketched in a bar trap by his
| right arm, twenty years ago, an had to stay
ketched fer three days fore any one kim
along to take him out, an then had to hev
his arm cut off, l says to myself, if ever
man had the habit of lynn, this orter cure
him, sure, by guns. So | went over to see
Lie. He were nussin' his arm, or ruther
the place whar the arm had ben, an were
cut up giner'ly wuss'n bilt ham at a stun
frolic. But, by gum he kim straight to the
dough trough with that story, an never
tlinched a muscle nor missed a word. Still
| couldn't get it jist squar in my mind wat
to think about it. / got to toSSin' up pen
MES to see wat l orter set down as the pro-
per heft to give Lie an the yarn. I'd say,
Here goes! If it comes down head, Lie is
liar Tails, he hain't.' Wall, sometimes
it'd come down heads an sometimes it'd
come down tails an so / see tht it wouldn't
be fair to jedge Lie by tOssin' cent an |
We're left flounderin' 'roun' in the swamp
hole o. onsartinty, ez OF Deacon Slocum
thinkin' bout it ALL an used to go an hear
Lies story w'eneverI felt like it. Say, hez
We noticed anything absent-minded or kin
der gone away bout me lately"
Il haven't, Major" l said.
'Wall, tn hes beenr exclaimed my host.
'Las' December Life Goodyear got ketched
agin. 'Twa'n't his arm this time, an
twa'n't in bar trap: He sot down on
| Jerry's runaway to wait fur deer, an fell
asleep. The deer kim along, an ez it went
| slashin' through the brush it woke Lie up
His gun were layin' on the groun' 'langside
| O him, an he made grab fer it an ketched
| it by the bar'l. He give tia yank, the ham
mer struck agin a stun, or sumpin, an the
gun went off. The ball jist plOwed through
! Lies knee, an they carried him hum an
cut his leg off Then got to thinlzin' bout
that yarn ag'in. Lie is Is year old, | says,
am drawin' long to'ard the time wen the
hunter that never misses his mark will draw
bead on him an fotch him down. If Lie
tells me that story now, with one leg Off
| an one arm Off, an him IS year old, how
kin | help blievin' him! An if he don't tell
me it ag'in, then he's ben the most onmerci-
full liar fer thirty years that ever tramped
these woods sence the days of-of-ohl you
know them fellers l mean. Them two fell
lers use to hear Deacon Slocum preach
about. They got struck with shower o.
sulphur an brimstun', or turned inter salt
or sumpn', on count o. their disposition to
lie Thems the fellers mean.
"Wall, arter l thort Lie must be gittin'
| long poorly smart | went over to see him.
He said he were poorly, an he looked it. |
| sot thar for an hour an more, an Lie didn't
seem to see the finger board ez p'inted him
in the direction o. that story It made me
! feel bad, but it were great relief to my
mind by gumr I says, Lie is a liar'
! Then sot a spell longer an got up TO go,
wen if Lie didn't begin with that story ist
ez solemn ez if he were only % year Old
with both arms an legs, an were preachin'
! funer'l sarmon, then ye kin bait me on a
| coon trap. He told it jist the same to me
ez he told it to me thirty year ago, showin'
me how he ketched one o the bars with one
hand by the throat an choBed it till it weak
ened while he kicked the life outen the
others, an -. But hoP on I'm leetle
ahead o. my story. Wen Lie f,Is' begun to
tell me that story in 1851 he used tn show
me how he grabbed one o. the bars by the
throat with his right hand, an kicked an
other one to death with his left foot, both Mt
the same time. AFTER he lost hi. right arm,
wen he'd come TO that place in his story,
he'd say: Yen 'scuse me, MAZE, but we
must member says he, 'th't 'twere with
my right hand choked the b'ar-this here
way-but now I've got to show we with my
| left hand, he says, how done it. So, he'd
say 'ptend this were my right hand and
then ON he'd go on with his story. An that
alluz puzzled me. Id say TO myself th't If
the man were lynn he wouldn't be so blame
| conscientious as TO 'scuse hisSelf fer havin' 10
use his left arm, cause he didn't hev no
more'n an inch an a half o right arm.
Wall, it happened th't the leg he shot off
were the left un, an wen he were tellin' me
the story arter that, an kim to whar he
| kicked the bar, he'd say TO me, ez cool an
elected ez could be: MAZE he'd say, Il
! kicked the everlastin' breath outen that bar
| with my left lep Int veil hey TO 'sC1isp